< Judges 15 >

1 During the time that they harvested wheat, Samson took a young goat to Timnah as a present for his wife. He planned to sleep with [EUP] his wife, but her father would not let him go into [her room].
Kwathi emva kwezinsuku ezithile, ngesikhathi sokuvuna ingqoloyi, uSamsoni wethekelela umkakhe elezinyane lembuzi. Wathi: Kangingene kumkami endlini. Kodwa uyise kamvumelanga ukungena.
2 He said to Samson, “I really thought that you hated her. So I gave her to the man who had been your best man at the wedding, and she married him. But look, her younger sister is [RHQ] more beautiful than she is. You can marry her!”
Uyise wasesithi: Isibili ngakhuluma ukuthi usumzonda lokumzonda; ngakho ngamnika umkhaphi wakho. Umnawakhe kamuhle kulaye yini? Ngiyacela, kabe ngowakho esikhundleni sakhe.
3 Samson replied, “No! And this time I have a right to get revenge on you Philistines!”
USamsoni wasesithi kubo: Khathesi angilacala mayelana lamaFilisti nxa ngiwenzela okubi.
4 Then he went out [into the fields] and caught 300 foxes. He tied their tails together, two-by-two. He fastened torches to each pair of tails.
Ngakho uSamsoni wahamba, wabamba amakhanka angamakhulu amathathu, wathatha izihlanti, wafulathelisa umsila uqondana lomsila, wafaka isihlanti phakathi kwemisila emibili phakathi laphakathi.
5 Then he lit the torches and let the foxes run through the fields of the Philistines. The fire [from the torches] burned all the grain to the ground, including the grain that had been cut and piled in bundles. The fire also burned down their grapevines and their olive trees.
Kwathi esethungele umlilo ezihlantini, wawayekela ahamba emabeleni emiyo amaFilisti, watshisa kusukela ezinqunjini zamabele kusiya emabeleni emiyo kusiya lezivinini lezihlahla zemihlwathi.
6 The Philistines asked, “Who did this?” Someone told them, “Samson did it. He married a woman from Timnah, but then his father-in-law gave her to the man who was Samson’s best man at the wedding, and she married him.” So the Philistines went [to Timnah] and got the woman and her father, and burned them to death.
AmaFilisti asesithi: Ngubani owenze lokhu? Bathi: USamsoni, umkhwenyana womThimina; ngoba uthethe umkakhe, wamnika umkhaphi wakhe. AmaFilisti asesenyuka, amtshisa yena loyise ngomlilo.
7 Samson [found out about that, and he] said to them, “Because you have done this, I will not stop until I get revenge on you!”
USamsoni wasesithi kuwo: Lanxa lenze njalo, kanti ngizaphindisela kini, emva kwalokho ngiyekele.
8 So he attacked the Philistines furiously, and killed many of them. Then he went [to hide] in a cave in the large rock at a place called Etam.
Wasebatshaya, umlenze phezu kwethangazi, ukubulala okukhulu. Wasesehla wahlala ebhalwini lwedwala leEtamu.
9 The Philistines [did not know where he was, so they] went up to where the descendants of Judah lived, set up their tents near Lehi [town and then raided the town].
AmaFilisti asesenyuka amisa inkamba koJuda, asabalala eLehi.
10 The men there asked the Philistines, “Why have you attacked us?” The Philistines replied, “We have come to capture Samson. We have come to get revenge on him for what he did to us.”
Amadoda akoJuda asesithi: Lenyukeleleni ukumelana lathi? Athi: Senyukelele ukubopha uSamsoni, ukuze senze kuye njengalokho akwenze kithi.
11 [Someone there knew where Samson was hiding]. So 3,000 men from Judah went down to get Samson at the cave in the rock where he was hiding. They said to Samson, “Do you not realize that the people of Philistia are ruling over us? Do you not realize what they will do to us?” Samson replied, “The only thing I did was that I got revenge on them for what they did to me.”
Kwasekusehla amadoda azinkulungwane ezintathu akoJuda aya ebhalwini lwedwala leEtamu, athi kuSamsoni: Kawazi yini ukuthi amaFilisti ayasibusa? Pho, kuyini lokhu okwenze kithi? Wasesithi kibo: Njengokwenza kwawo kimi ngenze njalo kuwo.
12 But the men from Judah said to him, “We have come to tie you up and put you in the hands of the Philistines.” Samson said, “All right, but promise me that you yourselves will not kill me!”
Basebesithi kuye: Sehlele ukukubopha ukuze sikunikele esandleni samaFilisti. USamsoni wasesithi kibo: Fungani kimi ukuthi lina kaliyikungihlasela.
13 They replied, “We will just tie you up and take you to the Philistines. We will not kill you.” So they tied him with two new ropes, and led him away from the cave.
Basebekhuluma kuye bathi: Hatshi, kodwa sizakubopha lokukubopha, sikunikele esandleni sawo, kodwa oqotho kasiyikukubulala. Basebembopha ngamagoda amabili amatsha, bamenyusa edwaleni.
14 When they arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came toward him, shouting [triumphantly]. But Yahweh’s Spirit came upon Samson powerfully. He snapped the ropes on his arms as easily as if they were stalks of burned flax, and the ropes fell off his wrists.
Kwathi esefikile eLehi, amaFilisti aklabalala emhlangabeza. UMoya weNkosi wasefika ngamandla phezu kwakhe, lamagoda ayesengalweni zakhe aba njengefilakisi etshiswe ngomlilo, lezibopho zakhe zancibilika zasuka ezandleni zakhe.
15 Then he saw a donkey’s jawbone lying on the ground. It was fresh, [so it was hard]. He picked it up and killed about 1,000 Philistine men with it.
Wasethola umhlathi omutsha kababhemi, welula isandla sakhe wawuthatha, watshaya ngawo amadoda ayinkulungwane.
16 Then Samson wrote this poem: “With the jawbone of a donkey I have made them like a heap of [dead] donkeys. With the jawbone of a donkey I killed 1,000 men.”
USamsoni wasesithi: Ngomhlathi kababhemi, inqumbi phezu kwezinqumbi, ngomhlathi kababhemi ngitshaye amadoda ayinkulungwane.
17 When he finished killing those men, he threw the jawbone away, and later that place was called Jawbone Hill.
Kwasekusithi eseqedile ukukhuluma wawulahla umhlathi esandleni sakhe, wayibiza leyondawo ngokuthi iRamathi-Lehi.
18 Then Samson was very thirsty, so he called out to Yahweh, “You have given me strength to win a great victory. So now must I die because of being thirsty, with the result that those heathen Philistines will take away my body [and mutilate it]?”
Wayesomile kakhulu, wakhala eNkosini wathi: Wena unikile lokhukukhululwa okukhulu ngesandla senceku yakho; khathesi-ke sengizakufa ngokoma, ngiwele esandleni sabangasokanga yini?
19 So God caused water to gush out of a depression in the ground at Lehi. Samson drank from it and soon felt strong again. He named that place ‘The spring of the one who called out’. That spring is still there at Lehi.
UNkulunkulu waseqhekeza igodi elaliseLehi, kwaphuma amanzi kilo. Kwathi esenathile, umoya wakhe wabuya waqaqabuka. Ngalokho wabiza ibizo lawo ngokuthi yiEni-Hakore, oseLehi kuze kube lamuhla.
20 Samson was the leader of the Israeli people for 20 years, but during that time the Philistines [were the ones who really ruled over the land].
Wasesahlulela uIsrayeli ensukwini zamaFilisti iminyaka engamatshumi amabili.

< Judges 15 >